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Attempts at Creativity

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Sunday, June 22, 2008

People watch movies for a variety of reasons. Some watch movies that have overall good reviews and are highly publicised; others like to go against the grain and watch movies that have virtually no publicity, but a few amazing reviews. There are those who watch film adaptations of well-loved stories, just because they want to compare the director's interpretation with their own. And then there are those who'll watch any movie with a actor/actress who is critically acclaimed...or incredibly hot. I'm not sure which group I belong to. I like to watch the summer/Christmas blockbusters at the cinema, but I'll shy away from any movie that has too much hype. I watch adaptations, but I try to watch them without comparing, 'cos I'll only be disappointed. And as for the actors...I'd probably only watch all their movies if they're critically acclaimed and incredibly hot!

Of course that's not the only way to categorise film audiences. I have friends who would not watch a rom-com even if their life depended on it. Other friends have the same attitude towards musicals...or horror flicks...or action movies...or movies with sad endings. Again, I'm not sure where I am on the spectrum. I love rom-coms and action movies. Not a fan of movies with gratuitous horror or gore though...I need a plot.

I think it all boils down to what you want out of a cinematic experience. What do you want to be thinking when you walk out of the cinema? I could think of the following options -

Hahahahahahaha!

OMG he/she is soooo delectable!

I loved the bit where he told her he loved her...made me cry!

Whoa the car chase was awesome!

La la la laaaa la la la...I am so getting the soundtrack!

Oh wow the bath scene was scary...so cool!

Yesterday, I watched a movie that didn't elicit any of these reactions...but I still liked it. Weird? Maybe. I walked out thinking "omg he is such a bastard!". The Edge of Love stars Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller, Cillian Murphy and Matthew Rhys, and is a biographical account of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas' love life. Once you get past Keira's amusing Welsh accent and Cillian Murphy's spooky eyes, you can get stuck into the relationship between the characters, which could be considered twisted, to say the least. The acting was good, as was the direction, the soundtrack was well-suited, and the cinematography was pretty cool. If you like movies that explore human interaction at its least attractive level, you'll like this movie (oh wow, I should be a film critic :P ). If I were to describe the movie in 4 words - "1940's version of Closer".

I'm still not sure what kind of movie-goer I am. But what I do know is, my next cinema trip will be for Wanted - apparently James McAvoy takes his shirt off...wheeeeeeeeee!!!